Newest Vital Sign and the Measurement of Numeracy

Health literacy and numeracy are receiving increased attention from health researchers and practitioners due to their important role in the health decision making and behavior of individuals. One particular measure of health literacy, the Newest Vital Sign (Weiss et al. , 2005) uses a Nutrition Facts Label to quickly assess an individual's ability to answer questions regarding the label information. In some studies, this measure has been correlated with other measures of health literacy. It is difficult, however, to determine whether the instrument assesses label reading and comprehension or arithmetic skills. To examine this question, the original version and a revised version of the NVS with simplified arithmetic tasks were given to a sample of 219 low-income participants. Results indicated a different level of sensitivity in the two instruments and different correlations with other measures of health literacy. Individual item responses and health literacy categorizations were also explored. Findings provide evidence of a need to clarify concepts like health literacy, nutrition literacy, and numeracy in order to better measure related skills. Accurate conceptualization and measurement are important in assessing needs for programmatic and educational efforts aimed at improving nutrition knowledge and behavior.